Pregnancy Dreams

From all that I hear, it's extremely common for pregnant women to have strange, vivid dreams...or, at least, to remember them more often--probably because we wake up half a dozen times during the night to go to the bathroom so the chances of waking up in the middle of a dream and having the opportunity to remember it improves dramatically!

Off the top of my head, I don't remember any special dreams that I had when I was pregnant with Josiah. But, wow, do I ever remember a lot of dreams from being pregnant with David! I dreamt--repeatedly--about water. I had so many dreams about water that, later on in that pregnancy, I wasn't the least bit surprised when I went to sleep and had another one. So I fully expected to have water dreams during this pregnancy, too.

Not so.

In this pregnancy, I seem to have dreams that center around two themes:
1. fear/conflict/bad guys--i.e. me being shot, people that I'm close to being crucified, etc.
2. being late, unprepared, behind--i.e. running a relay race through a mall and being so far behind everyone else--I must go faster...must go faster...go faster...faster

Not exactly the kind of dreams that make for restful sleep!

Another thing that's frustrating is when I go to bed early (for me), confident that when I wake up in the morning, I will feel rested and have a sunny disposition as I face a new day. And then, the morning comes, and I drag myself out of bed, feeling exhausted--simply exhausted. How did that happen??? I might as well stay up until midnight; at least I get something done in those late night hours.

My fatigue level seems to rely on so many factors, not the total number of hours I spend in bed. Obviously, the number of times I have to get up in the night and the frequency and intensity of my dreams affect it. I also find that my mood/energy level is especially affected by the events of the coming day. Do I feel pressure or stress about anything? Do I feel completely behind in all areas and overwhelmed by the thought of catching up? Do I not even have one area of accomplishment that I can look to for a feeling of satisfaction? Then I'll feel tired. Am I happy about something in the schedule, maybe something that I've been looking forward to? Do I feel relaxed, knowing that no deadlines are pressing? Am I enthusiastic about a project that I plan to begin/continue that day? Those things help me feel cheerful and energetic. Another cause for my sunny or cloudy moods is what kind of interaction I have with Josiah and David first thing in the morning--whether it be a conflict or attitude problem which shows up immediately v. happy voices, smiles, and cuddle time to begin the day. Other things as simple as feeling good about what clothes I'm going to wear or having something delicious to eat for breakfast can affect my mood--and thus, my energy level--so much.

But other days I wake up and have no rational explanation for why I find myself dragging--physically and emotionally--through the day. Sigh... At least I'm enough of an optimist to realize that "this too shall pass" and tomorrow will probably be completely different from today! I can always hope, right?